Articles and Blogs

Written by David B. Honig and Ritu Kaur Cooper. On February 3, 2015, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that disclosures to the public officials responsible for managing the subject of a False Claims Act lawsuit did not qualify as “public disclosures” for the purpose of the FCA’s public disclosure bar. US ex rel. Wilson v.... READ MORE

Leslie R. Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, announced recently that all new qui tam complaints would be “shared by the Civil Division with the Criminal Division as soon as the cases are filed.” Fraud prosecutors will now review all qui tam complaints to determine whether to open a parallel criminal investigation. READ MORE

The Fifth Circuit rejected the government’s attempt to expand the FCA’s reach to include non-government funds overseen by a non-governmental entity simply because the government had the ability to exert a modicum of control over the entity. READ MORE

Three new FCA cases of interest were reported in the last few weeks. One was discussed previously on FCADefense.com in Toumey Loses Stark/FCA Case Again by Drew Howk. Another, Ulysses, Inc. v. United States[ref]— Fed.Cl. —, 2013 WL 1817686, Case No. 06-436C, April 30, 2013.[/ref] is yet another example of the growing trend of failed FCA... READ MORE

False Claims Act defense attorneys have been warning government contractors, particularly Medicare and Medicaid providers, of increased risks and a reduced ability to defend against whistleblower complaints since the passage of the Fraud Enforcement Recovery Act of 2009 (“FERA”). The greatest risk comes from FERA’s addition of a new kind of reverse false claim:... READ MORE

Appellate Court Cases Three appellate-level FCA cases were reported in January and February 2013. Only one, U.S. ex rel. Nathan v. Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc., was selected for publication. All three cases addressed Rule 9(b)’s requirement that allegations of fraud be lead “with particularity.” The cases, read together, highlight the differences among Circuits... READ MORE

February was an interesting month, with one case showing how OIG advisory opinions can be taken too far, another considering fraud under a corporate integrity agreement, and a court applying burden-shifting for the first time at the appellate level in FCA retaliation cases. Cases reviewed from February are: US ex rel. Boggs v. Bright Smile... READ MORE

What must a successful FCA defendant show to collect attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justic Act? Can an error by the government create an FCA violation by a defendant relying upon the government’s acts? Does Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. US ex rel. Stevens apply to FCA retaliation cases? Can a... READ MORE

Can an incompetent, and ultimately dismissed, False Claims Act Complaint bar a future complaint under the FCA’s “first to file rule?” The Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. answered the question for the first time on November 4, 2011. Can a settlement agreement between an employer and an employee force dismissal of the employee’s... READ MORE